Second generation cordless phones (CT-2) are currently under adoption by many countries granting disparate spectrum allocations. Working under CT-2 Common Air Interface Specification, Version I-ETS 300 131 R1 (CAI), CT-2 provides digital cordless telephony at home, office, and other areas suitable for CT-2 such as airports and sports stadiums. Generally, the frequency of operation for CT-2 in European countries is consistent using 4 Megahertz of bandwidth accommodating 40 channels with each channel occupying 100 Kilohertz. Unfortunately, other countries allocate spectrum for CT-2 and other services such as two-way trunked radio services in inconsistent frequency spectrums. Since cordless phone spectrum allocation is not internationally regulated, or at least regulated to the extent that cellular frequencies are allocated, the prospect for a uniform allocation between countries or between provinces or smaller governmental sovereign entities appears limited. For example, the standard spectrum designated for CT-2 in the United Kingdom, Singapore and Hong Kong ranges from 864.1 Megahertz to 868.1 Megahertz (MHz) as in most of Europe, whereas the range in other countries varies and is quite inconsistent. For instance, in Australia the allocated CT-2 spectrum ranges from 861.1 MHz to 865.1 MHz. The allocated CT-2 spectrum ranges from 863.5 MHz to 869.0 MHz in Argentina. In one or more provinces of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), the allocated CT-2 spectrum ranges from 864.1 MHz to 868.1 MHz as in the United Kingdom, while other provinces in the PRC have spectrum ranging from 866 MHz to 870 MHz. Thus, a handset theoretically having the capability to function in all these spectrum ranges may not necessarily operate or be legally allowed to operate in each and every country or at least roam between countries or (in the case of the PRC) between provinces because the handset may not be able to determine an appropriate frequency for establishing a link.
Different spectrum allocation for the same service makes roaming between countries or provinces very difficult since the handset is typically programmed to operate on only one system's frequency. Typically, the handset can only register with a particular operator having a particular given link identification (LID). Unfortunately, since the allocation of spectrum is not uniformly allocated, a particular spectrum range cannot necessarily be associated with a particular LID. Roaming between Hong Kong and Australia, for example, is extremely difficult since there is only 1 MHz of overlapping spectrum between the two countries. Under the restraints of the CAI operation, the handset would acquire service on a correct channel only 25% of the time. Likewise, roaming between the different provinces in the People's Republic of China would be extremely difficult since in certain circumstances there may only be 2 MHz of overlapping spectrum between provinces. Additionally, there may be other services such as trunked radio service which may share a portion of the same spectrum. Thus, there exists a need for a handset that can operate and acquire the appropriate spectrum and channels in establishing a link in systems that have disparate, but overlapping frequency allocation and further be able to operate within the CT-2 CAI standard.